Welcome to Edgemont Bible Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois, where our mission is to glorify God by guiding people into a discipleship relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's listen in to today's message by our pastor, Douglas A. White. I'm going to ask you to take out your sermon outlines if you would. We're going to talk this evening about the weapons of warfare and what God had intended. I want you to get this picture. If you haven't already got it, we are at war. We have been since about 33 AD, if not before. But it's growing intense in this country over the last, let's say, 15 to 20 years. It's been a problem since the end of World War II, but it's been growing in intensity. And I want you to know that 2025 should be growing in further intensity, even more than this one has. So let's look at the spiritual warfare of 2025, first of all. There's a growing intensity of the conflict. Here's what we mean. The Democrats and Republicans are really set against each other. It's really at the point where they're not voting wisely about anything. It's just whatever the party says, I'm voting for that. Everybody understand where I'm coming from? It's to the point we can't trust them because they're not governing for us. They're not governing as public servants. Sadly, many of them are on a financial gain of their own where they're engaged with insider trading. They're engaged with making laws that protect the things that they're doing themselves. There are a number of things they're doing. And may I say, that's not a Democrat or Republican situation. That's a human situation. Your party doesn't make a whole lot of difference in that one. Does that make sense to you? That's a human problem, not a party problem. And that human problem is only intensifying. Every time Trump seems to talk about what he's going to do to cleanse the world and make the world a safer place to be, which it needs, I'm going to say some of the things he's talking about are really needed. However, for everything he talks about that, the Democrats are putting every block they can to it. And that conflict is getting more and more intense all the time. The conflict between the Muslims and the West gets more and more intense all the time. Recently, here's some things that we, well, I'll bring that up in just a minute, I'll say that. Things we know are already battlegrounds that are waiting for this destructive engagement. There are things that are in the sidelines right now that are just waiting for the engagement, much like it was during the Civil War times when there was much going on on the sidelines just waiting for the moment there could be an engagement so there would be an intense engagement. And we've got a number of those kind of things going on. May I say this, we have such things as Ukraine, Israel, those are all things that affect us because we got involved in the things that they're doing. And by being involved in it, we're now further and further in debt, and that creates a problem for all of us. The debt of this country is extreme. There isn't a way that we're going to be able to pay that back. And it's as if no one cares whether it's paid back or not. It's been created out of nothing anyway. So the way to go out to end the debt is to just say, now you're gone. We're starting over. It's the starting over that should scare you. because that starting over is going to be a mess for sure. We have such things as the porous border where any number of people have been able to get through there that should never have been in here. They weren't vetted. And what we know, this is what we know. This is not what we're guessing at. There are 4,000 plus Islamic cells operating in this country right now. And when I say operating, I mean they have serious battle camps where they're training people to be soldiers. Those are known about. That's not something that's a new thing. I'm not being an Alex Jones to you. I'm just telling you plain out, kids, this has been going on for some time and it's really going on intensely right now. We know this, that Al-Qaeda has now brought together 34 terrorist organizations under a single head called the Islamic Army. They're not united like an army. Each one can do their own thing. But they're united around the destruction of the West, the destruction of Israel, and they're all working together, even though independently, working together to get that thing done. We know Al-Qaeda has trained 1,000 suicide bombers to be released into the country. We know they're already here. That's not some sideline story. That's not some right-wing propaganda being made up. We know they're here. It's known who they are. They're known by name. But they're not doing anything right now, so you can't arrest them right now. So that's going on. So we have those kinds of situations that we know they're waiting for an engagement. We have things that are threats to fellowship and liberty. Privacy, which used to be important to us, is gone. The Patriot Act started, and it's just gone more and more intense now. There's very little you can do that's not known by somebody. If you have a phone, your information is known by a lot of people. If you have any sort of media account at all, your information is known by somebody. You're not going to get away in this world that has completely forgotten the Fifth Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, I should say, that's just forgotten it. It's not important anymore. Your privacy does not count. They need to know everything that's going on. Years ago, Rare Earth had a song that said, hey, big brother, as soon as you arrive, you better get in touch with the people. Well, big brother has already been here. There's a way, am I sounding too intense for you? Are you still with me? Okay, don't give up on me. You say, this is Saturday night, we're supposed to be having a good time. Well, I'm just telling you what the situation is. Do we have threats to our fellowship liberty in the deep state? That's a serious situation. That's levels deep of people who can't be fired. That's people who have worked their way into enough of a situation that they actually are the government. What's in Congress? That's just people getting paid by the same people to be the, if I can say, titular heads is what the whole thing is. Is that making sense? We have threats to our safety. That's in such forms as the Islamic Jihad, the militant leftists, and militant rightists as far as that goes. The cartels are a situation to us. There is gangs that are in operation. There is, let me see what else I've got written here. There's legal warriors too. There are planned epidemics. I was shocked the other day when I saw a man who was a close connection with who? the World Health Organization and a close proponent of everything went on with COVID when he was saying, wow, January 21st is going to be something because we're going to release all the epidemics and Trump's going to have his hand full. And I thought, released? I had to go back and review that. Did he say released? Yes, that's what he said, released. He was planning that somebody is planning to release swine flu, bird flu, all the different kinds of flus there are and other diseases into the country. So they're planning that. Does that make sense to you? Well, let me go a little further with that. Let's talk about the necessity of God's mercy and grace and protection. So if you would, open your Bibles to Psalm 127. Psalm 127. Let's see what God said was the weapons of our warfare this time of spiritual battle the spiritual conflict is not new it's been going on for centuries for millennia even all right so let's see what he said he said unless the Lord builds a house they labor in vain who build it Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. So let's stop right there for that. And the necessity of God's mercy, grace, and protection. So let's talk about, first of all, the vanity and danger of seeking our own solutions. The vanity and danger of seeking our own solutions. To do that, let me just give you some illustrations of people who sought their own solutions and what it cost. Let's go back here to the garden. So here we are back in the Garden of Eden, and we have people who are living in a perfect environment. They are innocent people. They've never done anything wrong. But they were given an opportunity to consider, will you believe what God says and believe that this particular tree here has a fruit on it that if you eat it you'll die? At that point, all they had to do was trust God. But they chose their own method. decided for themselves well let's see if it really does that let's see let's make our own mind up we have a mind let's make our own might up they made up their mind and carried out a sinful act has that cost anybody anything We're sitting right here tonight having a Savior that we needed to have because that event took place that many years ago. So that's all the way back to creation. Let's move up just a little bit. Here's a guy that makes a lot of his own decisions. He's strong. He's got long hair. He's a powerful fellow, and he makes his own decisions. He decides who he wants to marry. Dad, I want you to get that girl for me. No, son, not that one. That's the wrong tribe. That's not even a Jewish people. Get somebody in our own people. No, dad, I want that one. He makes the decision. Did that cost anything? Oh yeah, oh yeah. Over and over again the man made his own decisions, chose his own ways, and it was disastrous. Let me move up to David and Bathsheba. David, he's following what God's will is until he stops going to battle. When he stops being the commander of the army and stays at home, and while staying at home he sees something that is lustful to him. So he follows through with his own lust. That's something that was not his to do. He did something choosing his own way. And choosing his own way, did that create a disaster? Well, it did for Bathsheba. She wound up pregnant. It did for Uriah. He winds up dead. It did for Joab. He winds up not trusting his commander anymore. It does for all his other wives, because there's a problem. It created problems all down the line. Everybody understand what we're saying? Choosing your own way is not a wise thing to do. Therefore, Psalm 127 says, and let's look at that verse again, because it reminds us, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain to build it. We want to build our own house. We want to do our own thing. Why, we're free-willed people. We can do what we want to do. Hold on. Before you get started talking that way, consider this. There is the necessity of God's leadership and aid in constructing strong facilities. In constructing strong facilities. So I'm going to give you these tonight. Constructing and defending and understanding are three things that God wants us to have. Constructing, defending, and understanding. But let me give you the first one here. The necessity of God's leadership and aid in constructing strong facilities. What kind of facilities does he want us to build? Well, he says here, unless the Lord builds the house. Who lives in a house? You're right, a family. Where are we tonight? the church you understand where we're coming from now we're not up to the necessity of God's leadership and aid in defending so don't don't go there we're not ready for that just yet so if you can back up just for a moment we want to go constructing facilities the first facility that God wants us to construct is the family the family okay so consider with me The very first thing God creates is the family. That's the home. That's the foundation for dominion. That's the foundation for leadership. Every authority structure is found in the home. What was the home given responsibility for? Having children. Filling the earth. Reconstructing the earth, taking care of the wilderness, having dominion over the fish and the fowl. The ones who were given authority on the earth, very first ones, were Adam and Eve. That's the family is given that. You have responsibilities and stewardship. If you own property, you have stewardship over that property. You're supposed to take care of that. That's your responsibility from creation. Everybody understand where we're coming from there? That's not just from law. That's from creation. It goes all the way back to the beginning. You have a stewardship over that. And family is the first thing. The second was church. And that's the covenant people of God. He had Israel. That was in the Old Testament. By the New Testament, it's the church. you have covenant relationships people that he's working his grace through people that he's given the Authority to be protectors of his word teachers of his word in the Old Testament. It's with the Israel is with Torah They're supposed to teach all of Torah supposed to live all of Torah in the church age. It's all the New Testament which includes Torah and the the Gospel itself, which is the fulfillment of the Torah and So, the church was the second of those structures. Number three, community citizenship and government. Should Christians be in government? Yes. Yes, it's fine to be in government, but it's also important to influence government if you're not in it. Government is the third structure that God gave. He gave that structure back with Noah after the flood, when it was clear that people would not be self-governing, God put governing over us. He put us so that if you're not gonna govern yourself, there will be a government that does take care of that. We are called on to build good structures in all three, and to let the Lord build those structures. It's not ours to build, it's his that we're surrendering ourselves to, all right? So the number, letter C then, the necessity of God's leadership and aid in defending what is good and sustainable. Look, if you would, at the second part of that verse. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Now let me just go to this one right now. We have a responsibility in this country, as our forefathers knew, to build a self-governing type of government. government that would work with self-governing people. It was important that those people, the families, know the faith well enough that they can practice the faith well enough in the family, and with the family then they would create a societal structure, a government that would be just, righteous, good, and pure. That was going to require good, just, righteous people to be in it. That makes sense, doesn't it? That's what he was requiring. This has been God's weapons of our warfare from the beginning. So we were there to structure them, but we're also there then when they are going into peril, there to defend them. So let's look at the next thing. Once facilities have been constructed, they require vigilance in keeping them strong. So you've got to keep your eyes open. You've got to know what's going on around you. Psalm 146, this morning we were reading together as elders. Psalm 146 says, don't trust in princes. Can't turn your life over to the government. You can't trust that they're going to be taken care of. Why? They can be just as prone to corruption as you can. So keep your whole structure of your family in good shape. Keep your church in good shape and keep your community in good shape. Lord willing, good communities are built by the people in good churches who are coming from good families. Without God's leadership and aid, they'll begin to crumble and succumb to enemy attacks. If you don't keep an eye on them, well, just consider now, how did we get to a government like this? How did we get in such a political situation as we're in right now? We didn't watch what we were doing. We didn't watch what they were doing. We didn't pay attention when we were letting presidents, by executive orders, make more laws than the Congress does. The executive branch is not to be, listen to me, is not to be making laws. And they don't call it making laws. They call it making regulations for us executives to go on. I don't know the founding fathers at any point in having a Department of Education. And they thought anything about of having a Department of the Interior. Matter of fact, I don't see anything in there that left room for it. Those have all been done by the executive branch creating a government of its own. So it now operates in opposition to, not in conjunction with, the Congress itself. How are we going to defend those structures when they've been built incorrectly? Letter D, the necessity of God's leadership and aid in understanding our purpose for working. Look, if you would, at verse 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows. Now, I want you to stop just for a moment. That's a complete sentence. It's only commas in there. That means pause, I've got something additional to say, right? So it's vain for you to rise up early and to sit up late. That's not saying it's vain for you to rise up early, period. It's not that it's wrong to rise up early. Matter of fact, if it wasn't for electricity, we'd all be going to bed. We'd have been in bed by now. You understand what I'm saying? With no lights, your body is already starting to shut down. For you to go to sleep, and it starts the whole process. You go to sleep in a waterfall, okay? There are hormones that get released, next stage, hormones, next stage, hormones, next stage, you're out. You follow me? It's a waterfall effect. As long as there are lights on, your body does not believe it's time for sleep. So it stays awake. Guess what? If you're gonna stay awake, the body says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If we're staying awake, we gotta have some energy here, dude. and they're asking you to dump in sugar, because it's a really good, so, you okay, sweetheart? I'm feeling like eating something. How about cinnamon roll? Yeah, that's what you need, cinnamon roll. Not only will it add some weight to you, it'll give you a little more energy, which allows you to stay up just a little bit longer. So you say, well, then what if I just turn the lights off while I watch TV or watch my computer? Guess what kids? The blue light in your computer was designed in Las Vegas. It was designed to be on the screens of the little gambling machines that you have there so that you would stare at them continually and keep on gambling till you don't know what time it is in the night. So on your little phones, on your little computers, on your little TVs are all that blue light stuff that comes through there. That's why you can buy blue light glasses that knocks the blue light out. Everybody follow where I'm at? It's vain for you to rise up early Stay up late to eat the bread of sorrows. Solomon's big about this. Matter of fact, this is something, this is obviously a psalm from Solomon, okay? And this psalm from Solomon comes from the Proverbs, something he said in the Proverbs. He said, I'm sorry, in Ecclesiastes. He was saying, look, what is not vanity? He said, it is great for you to work your day, sit down with your family, Eat your meal and go to bed. That, he said, is the gift of God. Why? What did God promise us from work? What did he promise that we'd receive from work? He promised us that we would eat our bread in the sweat of our brow. Everybody follow that? All he promised you was bread. He didn't promise you prosperity. He didn't promise you'd have longer life. He didn't promise anything. He promised you'd have bread. Solomon looked at it and said, it's the bread of sorrows. Why? Because all I get from it is bread. I've worked all this time. I save all this money. And I don't get to keep it. I'm going to die. I'm going to be done. So I don't get to keep what I'm, so really what you are supposed to be is content with what you have. Eat your bread. Why do you suppose that's what the Lord calls for us to pray for? Give us this year our daily bread. What? No, give us our what bread? daily bread why so that you'd be dependent upon him not all these so that you could buy 60 loaves of bread and put them in the freezer you understand what the law is the Lord against saving no he's not against saving what he is this he's against you feeling secure because you save so much so that you're not worried about any problem that comes up I'll take care of myself Remember how there was a man in the New Testament that Jesus told apparel about who had us assumption he's something he did very well Forget the sumptuous part. He did very well and because he did very well. He said you know what I'm gonna Do I'm gonna build my barns bigger and bigger and bigger. I'm gonna store up more so I never have to work again God didn't say we're going to spend all our time doing nothing that he said was a problem that Sodom had and He told us to work six days a week. All right, I'll pass that. I think you're getting my point. So we had the necessity of God's leadership and aid in understanding our purpose for working. Seeking what you cannot provide. We think that through our working we're going to provide security. You won't get security from your work. You get your security from God. Is that making sense to you? You get your security from God, not from your saving account, not from your wise investments, but your security comes from God. You see, our wise investments are built on the same framework that has built our money system to start with. It's built out of nothing. And we're accumulating great piles of nothing that can just have all of it pulled out from under it overnight. All you have to do is just say, okay, this currency's not any good anymore. And you lose that currency and they switch currencies. There may not be an equal value given back and forth, all right? So, he said this, there's a vanity of continuous work to make self-provision. Notice this, it's not about just getting up early. It's about getting up early and then staying up late. You're now extending your day well beyond any working and productive time you have in it. You think that by staying up late you can do that much more. You won't. If you stay up late, get up early and stay up late and all that kind of stuff, you'll wind up looking like me. So don't do that. I'm trying to tell you, wise up. Don't go this way. This is not a healthy way to do it. Go to bed. Get up, get up early. Start your day with the word of God. Start your day with prayer. Start your day with seeking what God's will is for yourself. Submit yourself to the living God. And then at night, go to bed. Yeah, just go to bed. Try it, you might like it, all right? Let me go on to the second page, all right? Second page. I feel like Paul Harvey. Page two. The priority of the family in God's economy. That's the same word for stewardship or what is known as dispensation. So this is what God told us, what he expects. Now I get this from verse three, verses three, four, and five. Look at this. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. they shall not be ashamed but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. So let's look this over. The man and the woman are the image of God on the earth created with the purpose of the blessing of fruitfulness and reproduction to fill the earth with his glory. That's God's foundation for the care of the earth. He's make this whole beautiful earth that he says everything's very good and he put two people who are going to have children in charge of it so that it would be cared for in perpetuity. He's got in mind, I'm going to fill the whole earth with my glory, and you're going to be the ones who assist me in doing it. So this is what you're going to do. So they become a teamwork, a foundation if you would, and having those children becomes an important part of the construction of that. Now they become an important part in defending of that. because we didn't construct good structures. Now we've got to defend what structures we have done and try to find a way to engage in this spiritual warfare. How's it done? With the arrows of children. So let me show you what I mean. In letter B, the husband and wife are the picture of Christ and his church. I get that from Ephesians chapter 5. So if you want to look that up and find it for yourself, you can pick that up, Ephesians 23 and following. You'll find it right there. 22 following there, but They're a picture of Christ in his church. They are a team for accomplishing the work of God a husband and wife are to be a team a team that reflects the glory of God What's that? Full cooperation. Understanding this matter of equality is nonsense. It's not about equality. Of course you're equal. You're both made in the image of God. It's now about function. How are you going to function as a team? Somebody's got to be responsible for what the team does, and somebody's got to be working together to make that team be just exactly that. God's the one that establishes what the church is, what the family is, I'm sorry. And, back to the first verse again, remember, unless the Lord builds that house, you're laboring in vain. You want to do it your own way, I want to call you back to Abinav, Samson, David, and Bathsheba, just as some illustrations. Everybody follow me? So you can choose to do it your own way. Yes, you have that freedom. But disaster is on its way. Or you can choose to do it God's way and disaster is not on its way. It doesn't mean it won't be difficult. It will be difficult. Why? Because mom and dad are sinners who gave birth to perfect people. No, gave birth to sinners, right? So we got two sinners trying to teach a third sinner how to not be a sinner. You think that's going to work well? Not by yourself it won't. Not by yourself it won't. So let's look at this. Children are additions to the family. They are a gift, an inheritance, a reward from the Lord. And I can say it this way, though it's not stated specifically here, except the Lord gives conception. It's the Lord who gives conception. And I've tried to think my way through this when it comes to abortion clinics and that sort of thing. Why is it that God gives conception to people who don't want the child? Why does that happen? Why do we resist God Almighty and want to destroy that which was a gift from Him? Sometimes I think that's to present a way of repentance so that we can repent of the direction we're taking. It's not the pregnancy you need to repent of. Pregnancy is a conception from God. It's a gift from God. It's the self-willed attitude that needs to be repented of. We get into some sad situations because we're self-willed. We've chosen to do our own way, and sometimes it takes something like a pregnancy. Sometimes it takes something like a death in the family. Sometimes it takes a tragedy. Sometimes it takes personal health. God's got a panoply of tools to use there. You follow me? Sometimes it takes that just to get us to turn and say I'll stop doing things my way I get it Help me. I want to work with you Well it says here that children are as arrows in the hands of a warrior and arrows are used in spiritual warfare. Is everybody following that? That's what arrows are for. If it's going to be in the hands of a warrior, which warrior is that? I'm going to say that's not mom and dad. Mom and dad are preparing a quiver full of arrows for the warrior himself. The warrior is going to be God himself. That's who's going to be the warrior here. Now, let me see if I can show you where we go with this. As arrows in the hands of a warrior, here's what I know about arrows. Maybe I don't know a whole lot, but I know this much. Arrows fly the way they are bent. Arrows fly the way they are bent. And I think I've used this illustration before. I just know that I had to buy cheap arrows when I was a teenager to try to make my bow work. And I bought cheap arrows at a, I bought what I could afford at a dime store. And some of those were made out of a pine that, well, while they were in the store, the humidity of the store would often take that arrow and bend it just slightly. Well, I would then get at home and I'd start to fire my arrow and what? It'd go straight down. I think how does it doing that? Then I pick the arrow up and look. Oh, I see. It's because it's bent that way. Oh, well, I'll just turn it over. So it goes up and then aim low. So I would turn it over. So it aims up and I would aim lower than I thought I was going to. And sometimes. Sometimes, I actually hit the bale of hay. I'm not gonna tell you hit the target real often, but I at least hit the bale of hay. You understand where I'm coming from? Because arrows fly the way they are bent. Each one of our children are bent a special way. They are inheriting from mom and dad, usually from the, well, I'm not gonna say that, from mom and dad, they are inheriting bents in their world. Sometimes you can say, man, you are just like your mother. Anybody ever said something like that before? Why? Because they are behaving just like mom. Is it because they've watched mom and mom says, okay, let me show you how to do this. This is the way to really make your dad angry. Here's what you need to do. Do this. And here's what you really need to do about, no, you don't have to teach them anything. Why? They inherited from you. they're already bent that way you follow that so every one of your little arrows are bent little arrows and they're not identical they're not identically bent some of them are bent more like their grandparents let's blame them okay so here's what we're saying parental responsibility is to create straight arrows to hit the bullseye of the target of God's glory that's what you're aiming for what are we here for God's glory So when God puts that arrow that you have been given responsibility for into his bow, it's made to hit the glory of God right on the bullseye. But if it's bent, it can't fly the right direction. Does that make sense? And that's what we call sin. Sin is missing the mark. So when you fire a bent arrow, it will miss the mark. That's called sin. So if you take an iniquitous child, put it in the bow of God, and it's fired, it misses the mark because it's bent the wrong way. All right? Now, arrows fly the way they're bent. Parental responsibility is to create straight arrows to hit the bullseye, the target of God's glory. Number three. letter C. Arrows are straightened over a process taking time and work. My son and I, Zachary, we've gone a couple times down to just east, I'm sorry, west of Springfield, Missouri into a little area there called Bodark and in that area they have a primitive skills school. So it goes on for three, four, five days, something like that. You can make your own bows there. You can make your own arrows there. You can make all kinds. They teach you how to do that. They teach you all kinds of things, how to forage. They teach you a lot of just wonderful skills, all right? It's primitive skills. Well, in making an arrow, we found out you got to do this. It takes time. You got to trim everything down. You cut yourself a branch. and then you start trimming down all the little buds and everything that are along that branch. You get those trimmed off, then you put slow and gradual heat on them. So you're holding that arrow where it's bent over the heat, and you're twisting it and bending. Now you set it down so now it dries straight. Then, that's gradual, that's just putting some pressure on the whole structure of that stick. The preparation of purpose, you've got to know what you're making this arrow for. You create the guidance. You've got to put some fletching on it, so you put the little guidance system on the back of it. You've got to put a point on the front of it so it can pierce something. All of those things are something that makes an arrow. We are called on, if I can say it this way, human arrows are shaped by straightening the iniquity of the child with faith in Christ. They have to come to know Christ. I'm gonna remind you that the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. The one who straightens an arrow is the Lord Jesus Christ. You will not straighten that arrow by yourself, no matter how much pressure you put on that child, Until he comes to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, his arrow can't be straightened. Does that make sense to you? You're not going to put that kind of pressure on him. So, first you've got to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, next, it's followed with continuous discipleship until the son or daughter is ready to be launched from the bow of God. You gotta keep telling them what the truth is. You gotta keep on bringing them to an understanding. Son, let's work this over. Daughter, let's work this over. Here's a principle I want you to follow. Do you understand this, son or daughter? As you sow, so shall you reap. Do you understand that if you're going to sow negative words, you're going to reap negative consequences? Do you understand that if you sow corn, you get corn? Do you understand the sowing and reaping? Do you understand that in everything you learn to give thanks? Let's practice that, okay? I don't want to hear griping and complaining from you. Let's practice saying, God, thank you so much. I don't know what I'm going through right now. I don't understand what it is, but I know this. You're too good not to be using this to teach me how to be like Jesus. My goal is to be like Jesus. I know that's what a straight arrow is. I want to be just like Jesus. Jesus hit the glory of God. Everybody follow that? Jesus hit the glory of God. So, I can finish it by saying simply this it says that regarding that happy is the man who has his quiver full of them they shall not be ashamed but shall speak with their enemies in the gate in order to speak with your enemies in the gate you got to get to the gate And you've got to know who your enemies are. And speaking with them means that they surrendered. They understood. You're now speaking with your enemies. You're now saying to them, here are the terms of peace. Here are the terms of your surrender. Here's what I'm doing. Here's what you can have. Here's what you can't have. Everybody see where I'm at? Brothers and sisters, that is the weapons of our warfare. Now, I want to share this with you. Al and I have decided what we're going to be speaking about on Wednesday nights from here on till Iwana comes to an end. We're going to be speaking on just exactly that. We spoke to you about what a declining nation was in the first semester of our time here. In the second semester, we're going to talk about restoring a nation. So we're going to talk about restoring the family, restoring the church, Restoring good government what principles make those work. I'm just scratching the surface with this here So that's what I want you to know we're going to be doing throughout this this coming time Now it's time for us to have communion together, so if you would Let's join together for communion fellows if you'd come and help us with the distribution of the element Praise the Lord. Thank you for coming out on this Saturday night. Thank you for praising the Lord with us and worshiping. I know many of you got other plans. Thank you so much for sharing those plans with us tonight. And then we hope that God will bless you with whatever you're going to do the rest of the evening. I do ask that you continue to pray that God will give you people to talk to. just to share good things about the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe a verse you memorized, maybe something that's just important to you, but pray that God will give you those opportunities. Fair enough? All right. Father, thank you so much for all that you're doing in our life. We ask that you would bless each one of us as we depart from here, but I'm asking in particular, Father, for mercy to be shown to this area. I know that you have a big storm that you have alerted our weathermen to, and they are pretty sure of what's going to take place. But I know, Father, before they have been wrong, I ask simply that you would grant that we might have... good protection throughout this storm. I know there could be many people going through some rough times. I just ask in Jesus' name, give us all grace. Grant to us that we might have the steadfastness to look to you and to you alone for our rescue. You and you alone for our help. You and you alone for the opportunity to speak to other people. So we ask Father, you give us this week people to speak to, and things to say to those people. Help us to be people with open mouths full of praise. And I'm gonna thank you for what you're gonna do as we ask you to dismiss us with your grace and peace just now. In Christ's name, amen. We hope God has encouraged you with today's message by Pastor White. Thank you for joining us at the Edgmont Bible Church. We'd love to have you visit us if you're ever in the area. For directions, more information, or to support the ministry of Edgmont Bible Church, please go to our website at edgmontbiblechurch.org. That's edgmontbiblechurch, all one word, dot org. You can also follow us on Facebook at Edgemont Bible Church where the Sunday Morning Message is broadcast live.